"Life's just a dream on the way to death."

Sarah; Crow: City of Angels

Demon Called Deception

Chapter Twenty Two: Imagined Realities

The splash of cold water woke her abruptly. Emory bolted up on the mattress, shaking her head harshly to remove the water that was currently dripping down her face and seeping into her clothes. "What the hell was that for?"

"Sunrise was hours ago," the masculine voice replied, a hint of annoyance. "So get yer ass out o' bed and up deck. Yer my daughter and I love ya, but so help me-"

"Alright," she sputtered, swinging her legs off the mattress. "I understand. I'll be up there in a moment."

"You've got five minutes lass. After that I'm comin' back," Jack replied, and walked out of the small room, closing the wooden door behind him.

Emory stood up slowly and stretched her arms over her head, letting out a groan as her back popped. She walked over to the small wash basin and dipped her hands into the cold water. Emory gazed up into the small cracked mirror as she wiped her face, taking in the soft brown eyes and dark hair. She had definitely taken after her father. She looked nothing like her mother who had fiery red hair and dark gold eyes.

A flash of gold caught her attention, drawing her gaze over the reflection in the mirror. Her brow creased in consternation. A gold eye? Emory blinked, her image returning to normal, leading her to believe it had been nothing but a figment of her imagination. She shook her head. "I'm goin' crazy." She muttered. With one last look in the mirror, she exited her room and made her way above deck.

"I think father was ready to kill you."

Emory rolled her eyes. "The worse he woulda done would be ta throw me overboard. You know he'd never harbor actual thoughts of killing us."

Rebecca laughed. "Me? No. You? I'm not so sure. You've pushed him quite a lot recently."

Emory pulled on the rope, tying it tightly. She looked up, her eyes staring off into the distance, a soft breeze rustling her hair. "I'm just, I don't know, restless."

Rebecca stared over at her, her arms crossed over her chest as she leaned against the railing. "Restless?"

Emory shrugged. "I don't know. It just feels different. I feel different. Something doesn't feel right."

"What do you mean?"

Emory shook her head. "I've been having weird dreams; seeing things that aren't there. I just feel like I'm losing my mind."

"Well, you do take after our father," Rebecca replied, smirking.

Emory gave a snort of laughter. "I'm not sure that's a good thing."

Jack watched from the helm as Rebecca and Emory worked, laughing and talking. He was lucky, he knew that. He had more than most of the pirates that he knew. He had a family, a crew, he had his ship. His life was perfect. After all of the hardships they had gone through, their lives had finally come together and settled down. Well, as much as a pirate's life could settle.

But now it was somehow changing. Emory was changing. It was subtle things. A far off look in her eyes. Her mind wandered constantly. Something wasn't right. She was changing and it didn't feel right. There was something unsettling about the way she was acting.

"What are you thinking love?" a voice behind him asked. He felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around his waist from behind and a kiss was brushed against his neck.

Jack's eyebrows rose slightly as he jerked his chin towards Emory. "She seems different."

"Why don't you try talking to her?"

Jack turned around, taking his wife into his arms. "She never makes it easy. She dodges questions; turns conversations she doesn't like to somethin' else."

Lor's lips quirked up into a smile. "She takes after you."

"Is that a good thing?"

Lor shrugged. "It can be. You just need to talk to her Jack. Find out what's bothering her."

Jack sighed. "She won't tell me."

"How do you know?" Lor replied, ever the voice of reason. "Just try."

Jack sighed again and nuzzled Lor's throat, placing soft kisses against her tanned skin.

Emory's eyes were closed against the vision in front of her. She was alone in the galley except for the cook. And yet she wasn't. There were many people around her, laughing and jeering as they ate and drank. She could feel them, touch them, but she knew they weren't real.

She could hear a storm raging topside even though she knew it was the clearest day they had had in weeks. Emory covered her ears and hunched over the table, squeezing her eyes closed tighter. It was too much. She didn't understand any of this. Why was everything so different?

"What's wrong Em?" a voice said beside her. She clutched her ears tighter. A pair of hands grabbed hers, attempting to pull them away from her ears. "Em."

"No," Emory whispered. "Nononononono."

He pulled harder, finally succeeding in removing her hands from the sides of her head. "Em," he said again. Emory ignored him, keeping her eyes closed. His hand found her chin and turned her to him. "Captain Wyatt."

Emory's eyes shot open. For a moment she saw him. Soft grey eyes framed by unruly brown hair. She felt the soft brush of his lips on hers and then he was gone, nothing but a wisp of a memory. Emory stared at the spot he had been, her hand going to her still tingling lips.

"Emory?" the cook called out. "Ye okay lass?"

Emory's gaze shot up to his. "Yes. Yes I'm fine. Just tired."

"Per'aps ye should get some sleep." He joked.

She laughed. "Try telling that to my father," she replied, standing up and walking away from her table. "I'll see you later," she called, raising one hand and waving behind her.

Lor watched Emory stagger out of the galley. She looked drawn and tired, her eyes unfocused and dim. Emory's mind never seemed to be there anymore. And that worried her.

The sound of a distant explosion forced Emory to bolt up in her bed. Her eyes searched the room frantically. "It's not real," she whispered. "It's all in my head."

Another explosion caused her to jump out of bed, tossing the blankets off in the process. She ran from the room, throwing the door open and cringing as she heard it bang into the wall. She ran as fast as she could up to the deck, her wide eyes gazing around the ship. Nothing was out of the ordinary.

A sudden flash to her left drew her attention out to sea. Emory ran to the railing, her eyes watching as each flash illuminated the ships that were firing them. Explosions rocked the ships, the splashes in the water bursting into the air.

"Emory love?" a voice behind her called. "What's wrong?"

Emory didn't answer, her eyes still glued to the battle raging in front of her. "Emory," the voice called again, followed by a hand on her shoulder. "Darling what is it?"

"Don't you see it?" Emory finally whispered. "Why are they fighting? We should help them."

Lor's eyes flicked to the dark, empty ocean. "Emory, there's nothing out there."

"Yes there is!" Emory snapped. She raised her arm, pointing out to sea. "Right there! I can see them!"

Lor's eyes grew concerned. Slowly, she wrapped an arm around Emory's shoulders. "Emory, sweetheart, there's nothing there. Come on, let's get you to bed."

"No!" Emory cried and broke free from her mother's embrace. A sudden bout of dizziness tore through her. The explosions still rocked through her body. "No . . . I can . . . they . . . it's not . . ."

Lor watched as Emory crumpled to the deck. She grabbed her before she hit the deck, falling with her and holding her tightly as she knelt down. "Em? Em love, wake up," she said softly as she patted Emory's cheek.

"Miss Lor?" Bones, the night watchman, said next to her.

"Get Jack," Lor replied, worry crossing her face, tears welling in her eyes. "Jack," she said as Bones ran to the captain's quarters.

"JACK!" she screamed as panic broke through her mind.

They were fighting. All of them. Their swords rang out as they clashed. Angry yelling echoed in her ears as she watched. Everything was so bright; so blurry. She couldn't make out the forms of the people. Emory clenched her fists, only then realizing that she held something.

Emory lifted her arm, bringing the object to eye level. A single silver armlet was clutched tightly in her right hand. Her eyes flicked back up to the fight in front of her. "Is this what you're all fighting over?" she mused, her voice resonating in the empty space. "That just seems so silly."

"Emory."

Her head jerked around, the worried faces of her family hovering behind her. She wondered, for a moment, what they were so worried about. And then she remembered. The ships had been fighting; explosions had echoed through the night. Then she had collapsed.

"Emory, you have to wake up," her mother whispered.

The fighting before her began to disappear and she closed her eyes, the brightness dissipating around her.

She was groggy. Her head hurt; her eyes burned. A hand clutching hers squeezed gently as a moan escaped her throat. "Emory, are you all right?"

Emory's eyes opened slowly, blinking quickly against the bright light of the lamp above her and to clear her fuzzy vision. "Emory?" Jack called.

Emory sat up despite Lor's protests. "Yes. I'm fine," she whispered. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm sure," she responded, opening her eyes again and turning to look at Lor.

Lor's eyes narrowed, her brow furrowed as she gazed at Emory and then turned to Jack. Her voice was soft when she spoke. "Jack."

Jack's gaze turned to Emory, his eyes taking in her face.

"You're different," Rebecca said. "You don't look . . ."

Emory's gaze snapped up to Rebecca's. "What are you talking about?"

"Your eye," Rebecca answered. "It's changed."

Emory jumped out of bed, pushing past Lor and Jack, making her way to the cracked mirror hanging on her wall. The face staring back at her was different. A pair of mismatched eyes, lighter colored hair. Her face seemed harder, not as calm as it had been before.

"What are you holding?" Jack asked. "Where did you get that?"

Emory looked down at the simple silver armlet clutched in her hand. Images suddenly swam through her mind. Images of people she didn't know yet recognized. Images of fights that she knew were caused by this simple piece of jewelry. She lifted her head, her eyes looking at each person standing around her. Each of them unexpectedly seemed so alien to her.

"This isn't right," she whispered, stepping back, trying to put as much space between the three people and herself. "This is wrong."

And then the world around her shattered.

AN: Oh wow. It has been four months since I last updated. I am so sorry that it has taken me that long. It's just been really crazy. I've been promoted at work, I've been sick half a dozen times, and life has just kinda blown. But, I've updated now, so it's all good right? Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter. I know it's shorter than normal, but I couldn't put anymore in it. And I know that it's not the best chapter, but I promise that the next two (which will be the last two, I'm sad to say) will be longer and better.

Let me know what you think!